Following the controversy over the Army I Corps conducting guard operations without loaded live ammunition, an inspection conducted by the Ministry of National Defense revealed similar cases in other frontline corps.

Accordingly, the ministry has decided to issue institutional warnings to the units involved.

An official from the Ministry of National Defense stated, "As of the time of the inspection, some units were operating certain weapons by merely carrying ammunition without loading it, without revising official guidelines or issuing related official documentation."

The office of Representative Kang Sun-young of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly's National Defense Committee, and other sources reported that various instances of weapons being left unloaded were confirmed in corps other than the I Corps.

It was revealed that personal firearms and crew-served weapons were kept unloaded in the II, III, and V Corps, which are responsible for guarding frontline guard posts (GPs) and general outposts (GOPs).

The Ministry of National Defense decided to issue institutional warnings to the I Corps, II Corps, and the 22nd Division under the III Corps for violating the principle of loading live ammunition without following proper procedures.

The defense official added, "Based on the inspection results, we plan to issue institutional warnings and corrective orders to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the Ground Operations Command, and subordinate corps and divisions."

Because the method of carrying ammunition falls under the operational control of the Ground Operations Command, an institutional warning will be issued to the command, while a corrective order will be issued to the JCS to improve its operational systems.

However, the ministry decided not to seek disciplinary action against individuals, including Army Lieutenant General Han Ki-sung, the commander of the I Corps who had been suspended from duty over the controversy.

The defense official added, "It is not possible to accurately determine when the ammunition carrying methods began deviating from guidelines, and realistically, identifying specific individuals is limited because many personnel were involved across different units."

The I Corps, which oversees the western frontline, sparked controversy when it was revealed this past July that it had arbitrarily altered guard operation guidelines starting in the first half of this year.

The corps had instructed personnel not to load live ammunition into crew-served weapons, such as K6 heavy machine guns and K4 automatic grenade launchers, during guard operations at GPs and GOPs.

It was later further revealed that personal firearms were also not loaded with live rounds.

In frontline areas such as GPs and GOPs, South Korean military regulations require weapons to be loaded with live ammunition; as the controversy escalated, the Ministry of National Defense conducted an inspection of operational practices across frontline units in August.

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(Photo: Yonhap News)